When I Achieved Sainthood, the Immortal Official Actually Called Me to Raise Horses!

Gu An refrained from using his divine sense to probe the Profound Mind Realm cultivators inside the Library Hall. Lifespan Probe didn’t work through divine sense alone, and using it carelessly could be dangerous. If those cultivators had special techniques that allowed them to detect high-level surveillance, it might stir up unnecessary trouble.

Returning to Xuan Valley, Gu An went upstairs and pulled out a map scroll and the book from Xu Lu.

The book, titled Record of the World, documented the general conditions of various regions. Within its pages, Gu An could find information on every location marked on the map.

He carefully examined it, searching for a suitable place to break through.

From the map’s perspective, the Nine Dynasties only occupied one-tenth of the continent. Beyond that lay vast lands dominated by demons and devils, filled with perilous landscapes bearing terrifying names—Demon Shadow Peak, Demon Bone Mountains, Severed Head Ghost Forest, Fallen Immortal River, and so on.

After much thought, Gu An decided to break through in the lands of demons and devils.

The demonic lands were rich in spiritual energy.

Moreover, since ancient times, demonic lands had no dangers from the sea, making them safer than many other regions.

This map served as proof—after all, even Supreme Elders had traveled across the entire continent.

As night fell, Gu An silently departed, heading northeast.

With the map in hand and the Infinite Free Step underfoot, he traversed the darkness.

Before long, he left the Taicang Empire behind.

Taking less than twenty steps, he crossed the borders of the Nine Dynasties and entered the lands of demons and devils.

Instantly, he felt overwhelming demonic, devilish, and ghostly energy surging through the air.

The terrain was shrouded in dense fog, and towering mountains loomed like ancient demons, their shadows barely visible, exuding an eerie presence.

Gu An sensed countless living creatures, nearly all of them demonic beings.

Occasionally, he spotted cultivators, but at night, they all remained hidden, setting up formations to conceal their presence.

After half an hour, Gu An arrived at Phoenix Mountain.

This colossal mountain stood at over ten thousand zhang tall, stretching across tens of thousands of miles.

According to Record of the World, in ancient times, a phoenix had once descended upon this mountain and left behind offspring, giving the mountain its name.

However, Phoenix Mountain was now occupied by demons. The book’s author had once encountered a Great Demon equivalent to the Integration Stage here.

Though not the most spiritually rich place, it was still a viable location for breakthrough cultivation.

Gu An spread his divine sense across Phoenix Mountain, sensing the presence of three Integration Stage Great Demons and over a million demonic creatures.

Countless lesser demons roamed the area, making it clear why demonic calamities were so common.

Landing midway up the mountain, Gu An found a secluded forest clearing.

He sat cross-legged beneath a tree and activated his Lifespan Barrier.

The mist swirled around him, and the night wind rustled the grass, creating an eerie, wave-like effect.

Glancing at his status panel, Gu An sighed.

2,380,000 years of lifespan.

He felt a twinge of pain.

Who knew how many times he’d fail this breakthrough?

He was prepared to burn through centuries if necessary.

But he had to do it—staying alive was the priority!

First, he sacrificed 100,000 years!

【You invested 100,000 years into cultivation.】

【You cultivated for 4,000 years, using your profound mastery of the Innate Divine Immortal Art to forcibly challenge the Nirvana Stage. The tribulation has begun… You failed to endure the Innate Five Elements Divine Thunder Tribulation.】

【You cultivated for 8,000 years… You failed again.】

…

Damn!

Only 4,000 years before tribulation each time?

No wonder the Nirvana Stage was the first major roadblock in the Nine Tribulations of the Immortal Dao!

Failure notifications flooded the panel, but Gu An remained expressionless.

100,000 years wasted.

Again!

He burned another 100,000 years!

Still failed!

Again!

A third 100,000 years!

By this point, Gu An’s expression darkened.

All three attempts failed.

His face turned gloomy as he sacrificed a fourth 100,000 years.

Failure messages continued to assault his mind, but finally—

【You cultivated for 74,000 years… You successfully endured the Innate Five Elements Divine Thunder Tribulation. Your cultivation has advanced to Nirvana Stage, First Level!】

The dark clouds in Gu An’s heart instantly cleared, and a wide grin appeared on his face.

Breakthrough successful!

【You cultivated for 77,000 years. Your cultivation advanced to Nirvana Stage, Second Level.】

【You cultivated for 80,000 years. Your cultivation advanced to Nirvana Stage, Third Level.】

【You cultivated for 83,000 years. Your cultivation advanced to Nirvana Stage, Fourth Level.】

【You cultivated for 98,000 years. Your cultivation advanced to Nirvana Stage, Eighth Level.】

At Nirvana Stage, Eighth Level, he only needed 5,000 more years to reach Ninth Level.

Without hesitation, Gu An sacrificed another 4,000 years, successfully pushing his cultivation to Nirvana Stage, Ninth Level!

He simply couldn’t stand seeing a non-nine number in his cultivation level.

With the breakthrough complete, he could now focus on accumulating lifespan again.

BOOM!

The spiritual energy of the land erupted, surging violently into Gu An’s body.

His robes were instantly torn to shreds, leaving him bare-chested.

Raising an eyebrow, he continued absorbing the rampaging energy.

Unlike his previous breakthroughs, this time, he felt pain.

Nirvana signified the transformation of both body and soul—a little pain was to be expected.

Simultaneously, new knowledge about the Nirvana Stage flooded his mind.

As Gu An devoured the surrounding spiritual energy, Phoenix Mountain’s energy levels plummeted.

The phenomenon was so intense and abrupt that it alarmed every single demonic creature in the region.

The entire Phoenix Mountain quaked.

Hurricane-like winds howled through the night.

Countless demons roared and shrieked, their cries shaking heaven and earth.

Late at night, a group of Taixuan Sect disciples sat around a campfire deep within the mountains.

Not far from them, Xuanmiao Zhenren meditated beneath a tree.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhen Qin stood up and walked toward him.

”Senior, shouldn’t we set up a formation?” she asked cautiously.

They were Enforcement Hall disciples. While carrying out a mission on the Taicang Empire’s border, they had been ambushed by Nightshade Sect’s demonic cultivators.

Captured inside a magical artifact, they had been smuggled all the way to Northern Sea Mountain Range.

Had Xuanmiao Zhenren not saved them, their fate would have been unimaginable.

Xuanmiao Zhenren kept his eyes closed and replied calmly,

”No need. If those Nightshade bastards come, I’ll just kill them.”

After what happened with the Huangquan Fox Demon, his hatred for Nightshade Sect had deepened immeasurably.

He believed that the fox demon had been a pawn of Nightshade Sect—after all, it had used their poison and even warned him of their coming attack.

Zhen Qin hesitated.

Was he… using them as bait?

She held back her doubts.

Even though Zhen Qin found the situation perplexing, she refrained from questioning further.

With their Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, it was almost impossible for them to survive in the Northern Sea Mountain Range alone. They needed Xuanmiao Zhenren’s protection.

But Xuanmiao Zhenren wasn’t a disciple of Taixuan Sect—he had no obligation to protect them.

Now was not the time to offend him.

Zhen Qin turned away, returning to her previous spot to continue meditating.

Meanwhile, the other Enforcement Hall disciples began whispering among themselves, discussing Nightshade Sect.

The chaos engulfing the world was escalating.

This time, the disaster Nightshade Sect had unleashed was far worse than before.

Many of these disciples felt overwhelmed by the pressure, terrified that they might perish in this calamity.

Just then, Xuanmiao Zhenren’s voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention.

”You don’t need to worry. This area is under the protection of the Mountain God. Once my injuries are healed, I will escort you back to Taicang Empire.”

A male disciple, curious, asked, ”Mountain God? What Mountain God?”

Xuanmiao Zhenren responded,

”A true celestial deity of the mountains. As for where he is, I won’t tell you.”

The disciples exchanged glances, feeling that Xuanmiao Zhenren was speaking nonsense.

Had he hit his head too hard when he got injured?

Even Zhen Qin began to wonder if something was wrong with his mind.

A heavy silence settled over the forest.

The entire forest shook like raging waves, the ground trembled slightly, and the spiritual mist descended while demonic fog surged upward.

From a distance, it looked as if countless dragon shadows were writhing through the land, a scene of unparalleled grandeur.

Sitting beneath a tree, completely bare-chested, Gu An meditated as his cultivation continued to solidify.

After an hour of refinement, he finally broke through to the Nirvana Stage!

Upon reaching Nirvana, his spiritual energy transformed into true mana, and his primordial spirit underwent a metamorphosis.

Gu An’s Profound Heart was now inscribed with divine runes, on the verge of hatching his own unique divine ability.

He had already formulated an idea—to create a divine ability based on his cultivation techniques.

Yet, he did not slow down.

He continued absorbing the spiritual energy of the earth, still striving to reach Nirvana Stage, Ninth Level.

Then—he opened his eyes, frowning.

A demonic creature was flying toward his location, still about a hundred miles away.

If it didn’t change direction, it would likely enter his Lifespan Barrier.

”I hope the heavens bless you. If you step inside, even if we have no enmity, you will die.”

Gu An thought to himself, then closed his eyes again.

He didn’t enjoy killing indiscriminately, not even demons.

To him, as long as a being had gained intelligence, it was a sentient life—slaughtering carelessly could accumulate negative karma.

But if something threatened him, he would show no mercy.

Time continued to pass.

After another hour, Gu An’s cultivation had reached Nirvana Stage, Sixth Level.

The wild winds around Phoenix Mountain began to subside—not because he had slowed down, but because he had nearly drained the mountain’s spiritual energy.

Now, his Lifespan Barrier was pulling in energy from even further away.

A red figure moved forward.

As the demonic mist in the sky dispersed, the moonlight shone down.

Beneath the silvery glow, a woman in red staggered forward.

Her hair was disheveled, her bare feet covered in dirt and blood, and her steps unsteady, as if she could collapse at any moment.

Her long hair was tangled and matted with dried blood, strands sticking to her pale face.

Only one feature stood out—her bright, clear eyes.

But her gaze was downcast, filled with exhaustion.

”I… I can’t fall here… Just a little further… If I can reach the forest ahead… I can rest…”

She mumbled to herself, her vision blurring.

She staggered forward, but the mere distance of a few miles took her half an hour to traverse.

Finally, as she entered the forest, she collapsed into a patch of grass.

She could no longer stand.

And now—she was less than a hundred meters from Gu An’s Lifespan Barrier.